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March 12, 1996
New study documents impact of child poverty
Ottawa -- There are 1.4 million poor children in Canada, and they will be more likely than their
non-poor contemporaries to experience ill health and lower levels of educational attainment,
according to a study released today by the Canadian Council on Social Development.
Child poverty has been rising since 1989 and, currently, one in five Canadian children under the
age of 18 is living in a poor family. For preschool-aged children, the rate is now almost one in
four (24 per cent).
The CCSD's report, Child Poverty: What are the Consequences? documents that as a result of
growing up in poverty, children are likely to face serious health and social consequences. For
instance, they are less likely to use birth control, and are more likely to have problems with
alcohol consumption and to take up smoking. The report gathers key findings from a variety of
studies, illustrates the links between family income and healthy child development, and compares
Canada's performance in fighting child poverty with other countries.
The CCSD is also releasing today a backgrounder analysing the likely impact of the recent federal
budget on children living in poverty.
"It's simply not possible to develop a healthy society on the backs of poor and unhealthy children.
Our report graphically lays out the consequences of neglect," says Katherine Scott, a research
associate at the CCSD. Scott co-authored the report with CCSD executive director David Ross
and research associate Mark Kelly.
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Child Poverty: What are the Consequences? - Related Material
Canadian Council on Social Development,
309 Cooper Street, 5th Floor,
Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 0G5
Tel: (613) 236-8977, Fax: (613) 236-2750, Web: www.ccsd.ca, Email: council@ccsd.ca
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